Good Morning!

Okay, so here is my post continued since I wasn’t able to fit it all in my caption 🙂 I hope this is helpful for you all! I’m just sharing my experience & what helped me in hopes to inspire you if you’re dealing with the same thing or something similar. Here we go:

1. I HAD TO HEAL MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD. I was either restricting and exhausted (who wants to move their body when they have zero energy?) or overly full from a binge and all i wanted to do was lay in bed and watch Netflix. Once I healed my relationship with food and learned that eating more gave me energy, made me feel good, and actually made me want to move my body i was able to start moving for fun! This took time and patience to heal and it was a journey, I’m going to be honest here. However, I believe if I can be healed from an eating disorder, anyone can. I also highly suggest that if you are struggling with one, seek help and treatment. Acknowledging it and bringing it into the light is such an imperative step to recovery.

2. I STOPPED OVERCOMPLICATING IT. Instead of trying to find the perfect recipe for weight loss and what exercises everyone else was doing, I took a step back. I focused on walking, which gets a bad rap, but walking is amazing for your body and the perfect movement in my opinion! Then when I started feeling so great from the walking, had more energy, and was eating enough and felt good, I started craving something more. I actually found Pure Barre, and it changed everything for me! I love the people, the atmosphere, and the movements. I walk out of the studio feeling refreshed and motivated. That’s the only way I want to leave a workout. I don’t like feeling drained and exhausted after. So for me, I stick to walking and Pure Barre. Find what makes you happy and excites you. Maybe that’s going on a walk SOLO (or with your baby in a stroller AKA me) while listening to a podcast, because you need some you time. Or maybe you get your energy from being surrounded by people, find somewhere you can do that! Just find what works for YOU. Not what everyone else is doing.

3. I LET GO OF THE ALL-OR-NOTHING MENTALITY. I can be so all-or-nothing when it comes to everything (working on that), but especially movement/ exercise. So if I couldn’t do Pure Barre 3 times this week, then I may as well not go at all. Or if I could only walk for 10 minutes then that doesn’t even count, because it’s not 30 minutes. Well once I let go of those rules I had engrained in my head, I was able to just start moving more. To not be so focused on the numbers, times, etc but just moving! For me, the more I move, the better I personally feel. It gives me more energy, which seems backwards but it truly does. I even just try to move more by taking the stairs, parking further away, dancing around the kitchen, or doing some squats/ pushups here or there while playing with T! That’s me, because I think it’s fun, but do what feels right for you and just MOVE.

4. I FOCUSED ON HOW IT FELT RATHER THAN HOW I LOOKED. This was HUGE for me, because I was so hyper-focused on what it made me look like that it just sucked the fun out of everything. It’s okay to want to look good and feel good, don’t get me wrong, BUT because that was my motivation, I wouldn’t commit because I didn’t always love my results. I’d just be like well it’s not working anyway, so I may as well not do it. When I started focusing on the fact that it gave me more energy, made me feel stronger, & was fun for me then I was finally able to actually WANT to move. It became more fun than a chore!

5. I STARTED BEING THANKFUL FOR WHAT I WAS ABLE TO DO. Sometimes I think we can take for granted so many things in our lives. Trust me, I’m guilty! Recently I came across some people that weren’t able to move and I realized how much of a gift an able body is. We focus so much on fixing and criticizing that I think we truly forget the beauty of everything our bodies do for us. This was enough for me to realize that I need to be thankful every single day for the ability to move. Such a big perspective change and I believe a lot of how we live our lives is about perspective. So if you’re able, move for those who can’t 🙂

Also, I just want to add a little bonus and say to quiet the diet culture noise. I know it can be so intriguing and influence you without even knowing it. The promises of flat abs and a bikini body with this new workout or meal plan or etc. But they are spending SO MUCH MONEY trying to suck you in with something new all the time. It’s an industry. That is trying to make money. So throw away those books or magazines or unfollow those accounts that are making you feel bad about yourself. You are beautiful and wonderful and you’re better than that. I personally block out any diet culture statements, and remind myself that I’m already good enough. I don’t have to fall for their traps. I hope you do that too and I hope you know that. You are GOOD ENOUGH. SMART ENOUGH. PRETTY ENOUGH. LOVED! Just a little extra encouragement for you today!

Xoxo,
Lex